


If Only Till Then

by lilac_whimsey



Series: shifting ripples [1]
Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Izuo - Freeform, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships, fuck i forget i'll add more tags later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-05-14
Packaged: 2018-01-20 18:05:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1520192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilac_whimsey/pseuds/lilac_whimsey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What goes missing, resurfaces later in life. Often in times that it is not wanted or needed. If Shizuo hadn't gained his amazing strength until later life, what differences would there be? His impact on Ikebukuro sets off an altered chain of events along with the deepening interest of a certain informant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

The extravagant lights dimmed down as platform Shizuo was standing on was being safely lowered to the ground underneath the stage. As he was being lowered, he could hear people roar out their enthusiasm about his newest performance, both girls and guys alike chanted his name, albeit it wasn't his true name, it was something he went by.

Even though he had been through this situation over a hundred times or some in the duration of his career, the fact that it was him that the audience was cheering about made a small amount of pride swell up in his chest. The remnants of his adrenaline rush from the show were slowly draining from his body, leaving him feel a bit empty though it also had a calming effect on him. He was starting to feel the strain of tonight's show, but nonetheless, it was worth it in the end.

When Shizuo finally reached the bottom level beneath the stage, he was greeted by various people from the stage crew, congratulating him on another great show. He grasp the hands that were extended towards him while his manager started to lead him to his dressing room. On the way, one of the back up dancers handed him an icy beverage, Shizuo pressed the cold can against his face to release the heat he was feeling at the moment.

Shizuo's manager smiled at him in approval of his singing tonight while at the same time conversing with someone on his cell phone before he pushed him through the door of his dressing room.

Kasuka, his brother, had been waiting for him in the low lighted room in one of the chairs in the corner. The somber brunet was flipping through a magazine when Shizuo entered the room. The only acknowledgement that the other man showed to his arrival was a slight glance in Shizuo's direction before looking back to an article in the latest issue of Tokyo Warrior.

He brushed off the rude greeting, he was used to the way his brother was wired. Shizuo vaguely remembered that Kasuka's new role involved the modern city of Ikebukuro, his lastest leading role having to do something along the lines of reincarnation or some other alternate reality.

It would just so happen that Tokyo Warrior was starting to reach out to that territory which the story line of Kasuka's new role was to take place for this month's edition. He remembered the same magazine had interviewed him for the new girls' section not so long ago, they were trying to coax in more female fans with apperances of popular celebrities.

He smiled slightly in Kasuka's direction despite the fact that he wasn't looking at him before settling down in the chair before the large vanity mirror that was placed on the counter onto the side of Shizuo's dressing room. The exhaustion from the performance was finally spreading throughout his muscles, making them feel heavier than usual.

Shizuo tugged at the high collar of his costume, his joints feeling stiff. There was a psychical load on his shoulders.

If only Shizuo could smoke a cigarette. As soon as that thought appeared in his mind, the brunet wiped that thought out of his mind. In his youth, he had smoked as a form of lame rebellion against his parents. That stage in his life was surprisingly short, but the consequences were still present.

The lasting effects made it so that Shizuo had become addicted to the taste of nicotine before he knew it. Although he had been trying to quit when he started his career as a music artist. Shizuo's selling point was his vocals, the important upkeep up his lungs was what paid for the bills and cigarettes blackened not only his lungs but also his clean public image.

The brunet had been getting used to not being able to smoke. While after all these years of going clean, Shizuo still felt the urge to unwind and smoke a pack after a stressful day. This was becoming an everyday urge with his packed schedule. He really needed a vacation.

But all in all, Shizuo had a good life if at least by his standards, though lately he had been feeling rather empty.

He wasn't sure what made him feel this way. Shizuo already had things that people could only dream of. Substantial amount of wealth, a good family, adoring fans, girls who practically threw themselves at his feet, and excitement, though sometimes it just wasn't enough. Something was definitely missing.

Shizuo started to pop open the cap of the soda out of the mini cooler in the back and took a refreshing sip before he idly made a comment on the concert's audience and growth to Kasuka. His brother made barely audible responses to let him know he was listening; eventually Shizuo's small talk wandered to Kasuka's new role.

"So… you're studying up on Ikebukuro?"

Kasuka simply just nodded again.

From what Shizuo could remember of random gossip, Ikebukuro was a strange city full of strange things. At one point, the city was known as the main grounds for gang wars. Currently, the mysterious Dollars was now ruling the city through invisible hands without color. He grimaced at the thought of excessive violence. Though he had also heard of rumors of supernatural things going on also, for example, things like a headless rider that roamed with a motorcycle that made strange sounds.

Shizuo mauled over those thoughts, he also hadn't gone on outing with his brother for a while. Finally he spoke, "Maybe we should go visit there the next time we're free."

Kasuka finally spared him a glance from his magazine. If Shizuo hadn't been able to read his brother's expression so well he might have not noticed the slight smile that his brother sent him.

* * *

 

Ironically flipping through the same magazine, Orihara Izaya browsed through the articles of Tokyo Warrior on the off chance that they might have reported something he hadn't already known and the even more off chance that it would be something that ruined his future plans.

After all, all of his plans were made with tenderly love and care so the thought of something unknown going on in Japan without his knowledge was a strange occurrence. In fact, if it was counted percentage wise, it would most likely be less than one percent. It was also a well known fact to the universe that Orihara Izaya knew everything about the on comings and goings of Japan like the back of his hand. Though his hold on matters was slowly reaching to places out of the country.

For a moment, his burgundy eyes scanned over an article about another celebrity and his success. Izaya idly remembered that his sisters were fans of this man. Iwaki Takumi, another generic idol that had a holding place in the entertainment business, his real name being Heiwajima Shiuzo. Well whatever he went by, Shizuo or Takumi, the man had no true meaning as either pawn or actual entertainment value.

In other words, Heiwajima Shizuo was useless and uninteresting, although he had received Izaya's equal proportion of love for just being human. All humans received his love, though Izaya didn't favor others more than the idol or favor any others less because it simply wouldn't be fair. Not that the brunet still didn't still keep favorites after all.

Seeing that there was nothing interesting in the dull magazine, he tossed it a random direction before swiveling his chair to look over the landscape below his office.

Izaya watched as the said beloved humans milled around, unaware of what was to come. For these plain pedestrians, they continued their boring lives in repetition of their boring routines in a frail attempt to keep a semblance of normalcy while chasing after new highs. The brunet threaded his fingers together under chin while his elbows settled themselves on his folded knee.

Poor humans. Izaya would have to change that. 

Oh yes, important people and important events to come, all in due time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm restarting up this old story again with the intentions of continuing it. As I go along, there are some slight differences to this version and the one on fanfiction.net. Just some portions that didn't flow right and seem weird to me that hadn't occurred to me three years ago.
> 
> As you can see, things are a little different in this AU. Since Shizuo doesn't have his insane strength at the moment, it changes a lot of things.
> 
> For example, his job, since he doesn't have his strength, he probably wouldn't be Tom's bodyguard. I've read somewhere that Kasuka became an actor because he saved a talent agent that was nearly killed by Shizuo because he was trying to recruit him instead. If Shizuo didn't have his strength he might probably be a celebrity. Since he's a celebrity, he probably won't use his real name, so he will be using the stage name Iwaki Takumi.
> 
> Shizuo also wouldn't be as trigger angry as he is in canon because his fury directly links to his inability to control his strength. So he's a bit of a pacifist for now at least until later. I'll explain more along the way.


	2. It was only a matter of time before he exploded

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a pair of brothers go out, become separated inducing a rather intense kidnapping scene. Which is then followed by a car chase by some crazy bastards. Ending in the discovery of a new found strength.
> 
> Centering around Episode 6 of DRRR!! where Kaztano is kidnapped by the human hutners and Kadota's gang have to save him.

Iwaki Takumi was a renowned name, known as an experienced musician that was also a pioneer to the entertainment business. The man had a loyal fan base that had held steady ground and cultivated over the years to this point.

Heiwajima Shizuo, on the other hand, was a nobody.

Although these two were different in many aspects of personality and presence, they were in fact, the same person.

At the tender age of 14, when he was still in junior high, Shizuo had been scouted by a talent agent along with his brother. The two had began their debut as models, before diverging into separate paths. Kasuka taking acting, and Shizuo being pushed into music. At first, he had been apprehensive at the thought of signing with a talent agency. Even though Kasuka was going to go through with the whole ordeal, Shizuo could plainly see that signing with a talent company would cause more problems than good things.

However Shizuo was also at a point in his life where he hadn't been doing anything too important. Simply coasting through life. So he took a chance, simply out of whim more than anything thinking that nothing would happen. Also partially to keep an eye out for his younger brother.

To his utter surprise, Shizuo became popular with the general public. He figured it was all his tall build that made it so he towered over most people. The man's own success was mystery to him, like how his features were apparently attractive enough to be model worthy. 

Shizuo started to draw in the attention of many females from the advertisement endorsements he was placed in. His fans were mainly girls in their teenage years though his demographic didn't end there, ultimately reaching much older women that far surpassed his current age and attracting some male fans as well. Eventually when Kasuka was starting to take on acting classes, Shizuo began to be pushed into becoming a musician, finally taking on the stage name of Iwaki Takumi. The name Heiwajima Shizuo was wiped out of the public eye.

The brunet already had a set of pipes, but he was put under the critical ear of hired voice trainers. Through the hands of a specialized team and coaches, he worked his ass off to become on par with other vocalists, crafting his image until it was the pristine image that was presented today.

His real career picked up when he was finally debuted to general public as Iwaki Takumi, the pop star. Girls went wild over his smooth singing voice that he cultivated over a short period of time.

As much as celebrity life had been nice to him, Shizuo began to feel tired of the entertainment business. He originally took the job to create a little disruption to his boring life.

But now Shizuo was been following the same routine for almost a decade. There was hardly a difference and he started to value a normal life. A place where people did not scream his name, somewhere Shizuo would feel at peace. Since the start of his career, all he did was promotional work and tours, doing game shows to boast his popularity. A thought occurred in Shiziuo's head a year or so back that maybe he wasn't suited to work and live like this for the rest of his life.

In short, he was going through an early mid-life crisis. Although he hadn't spoken a word of this to anybody, including Kasuka, but he had been thinking of retiring. This whole entire life of glitz and glamor wasn't him, for not the first time, Shizuo began wishing for a simpler life.

It was about time that he did something new with his life, though he wasn't sure what yet.

* * *

As promised, Shizuo and Kasuka had traveled to the huge city of Ikebukuro, though for the moment, they were under disguise as to not deter the media or any possible fans around.

Shizuo adjusted the designer sunglasses on his bridge of his nose with his middle finger so it was at eye sight. His disguise consisted of a baseball cap on top of a blonde wig over his brunet hair and dark shades over his eyes, Kasuka was dressed similarly. Hopefully the combination of the three would be enough, since no one they had come across had recognized, Shizuo was under the presumption that it worked.

He kind of looked like a truant delinquent to be honest, most people they came across steered clear. 

They had been wandering around Ikebukuro for the last hour or so, going through various stores. While he looked through overpriced clothes and other appliances, Kasuka had been studying the people around them and their mannerisms as a reference for his acting role. For the moment, they had been walking through a particularly thick crowd.

A lot of gossip about headless riders and gang wars from what he could pick up.

Shizuo felt pretty relaxed for the time being, it's been a long time since he had properly hung out with his brother since their busy schedules didn't really allow them a day off and rarely at the same time. Even if this was a reference gathering trip for Kasuka, he was still enjoying himself so far. Shizuo had felt a small sense of inner peace.

Said peace didn't last long as he was roughly shoved from Kasuka's side by someone in a hurry. The other person left so quickly, he couldn't even say anything.

_Displeasure._

There was no use getting angry, Shizuo was told that it would ruin his gentlemanly image and you never knew who was watching. If it was lesson number one he learned while living the life as a popular musician, you shouldn't go against the advice experienced managers give you. There are all knowing with their advice.

Before he could close the gap between Kasuka and himself, another person stepped between them, he had to step further aside to avoid being bumped into. As time passed on, he had to step further and further back and the distance between the two of them grew. There was soon enough a small crowd between his brother and himself and the crowd was pushing them in opposite directions.

Shizuo frantically tried to reach his brother with his arms or catch his attention, but with no avail. His brother was already walking away from where they once were and hadn't notice their separation. He called out Kasuka's name, but they didn't work either.

Any louder and he might catch the attention of the wrong person.

Soon enough, the brunet was alone in a crowd of people he didn't know, and his only link was drifting further away.

The thought of just calling Kasuka came to him. Shizuo pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, fingers fumbling with Kasuka's number before another passerby knocked into his shoulder hard while he was going through his cell contents. Shizuo stumbled backward a few step and his phone flew out of his hands, crashing on the hard cement floor of Ikebukuro where it skidded across for about a half a foot before it was accidentally trampled by someone else's foot.

Shizuo could only stare in horror as his only connection to finding Kasuka was thrown out the window and literally obliterated.

_Annoyance._

He didn't dare to go pick up the useless pieces of his recently broken cell phone. There was no use of crying over spilled milk, though he felt a stab of anger at the back of his mind, he let it slip.

Shizuo pinched the bridge of his nose with the tips of his fingers as he let an aggravated sigh. He turned and went to the closest person with a cell phone he could find, if he couldn't call Kasuka's phone from his cell, then someone else's would have to do. He turned his attentions to a trio of teenage girls with very heavy makeup and creepily even tans, they were all concentrating on their phones individually, maybe he could convince one to let him borrow it?

"'scuse me, but could I -" before he could finish the teenager he had originally approached whirled around and scowled at him before she scrutinized his face closely.

"Hah? Do I know you from somewhere?" The tallest girl of the group narrowed her eyes at him, as if squinting would help her see him better.

Shizuo paused for a moment.

"Never mind." He was quick to walk in the opposite direction they were in. Ok. Maybe asking a stranger for their phone wasn't the best idea. He didn't really want to be recognized anytime soon and spoil the rest of day, nor does he want to leave Kasuka's cell phone number on any stranger's.

He also didn't need to bring the media's attention to his day out with his brother. At the early point in his career, Shizuo learned celebrity life lesson number two, it was best to avoid the paparazzi least you want to find articles about you eloping with some random chick that you didn't even know.

He didn't really want to walk into any other stores and ask for their store's phone because of the whole revealing of his secret identity thing. This town was known for it's gossip. The best bet Shizuo had at the moment was trying to find a phone booth and call Kasuka so they could find a spot to meet up at. If he was lucky, he might actually run into Kasuka on his way there.

Finally making up his decision, he started to walk down the stairs of the bridge. It was getting late into the day so he hoped he'd find a phone booth or his brother soon.

After awhile of walking, Shizuo learned that he shouldn't have been left with any decision making ever. His initial idea of finding a phone booth wasn't the best thought he's had and should have considered more.

The first problem being that Shizuo wasn't familiar with the layout of Ikebukuro so he quickly got lost. Kasuka had been his guide for the duration of the trip earlier, where the fuck was Google maps when you need it?

He could almost feel an oncoming headache to all of this, maybe taking a trip wasn't such a good idea after all. Shizuo might've been a fairly even tempered person on a good day, but he was seriously going to blow a fuse from all the stress lately. At the moment, he was in a ghetto area of Ikebukuro.

The streets wasn't really populated and the buildings surrounding himself were slightly old and in need of some remodeling. The place was straight out sketchy with all the flashy lights and signs. His publicist would probably insist this part of town was populated with homeless people, runaways, maybe along the exaggerated lines of illegal immigrants.

Despite Shizuo's hopes of locating a phone booth during his search, he hadn't been successful. He might as well ask someone on the street if they knew where one was, there was a less likely chance that anyone around here would recognize in this area and he just get the call over with so he could find Kasuka and go home.

Shizuo walked over to a building whose foundations were filled with cracks though looked fairly safe. He passed by a black van parked out in front, a small boy sitting near by the entrance gave him a glance. The brunet went to the opening of the building, where the door should be, but mysteriously, the door was missing.

Despite Shizuo's common sense telling him to get away, his feet only wandered further into the building. Technically, this was illegally trespassing on someone else's property, but in the terms of his own branded logic, he wasn't really trespassing on any body's property if the door was left open.

Well actually the door was left on the ground, but nonetheless, open was open.

He located the missing door on the ground; wondering who would leave it there. Though his question was answered soon, the musician could hear loud voices coming from the hall upstairs. Looking around he could see that the building was fairly well furnished; albeit some of things decorations were slightly tacky. He guessed it to be a rundown hotel though it seemed to be mostly empty for the moment.

Shizuo walked up the short flight of wooden stairs. He didn't really know what he was suspecting from this odd situation, but what met his sights wasn't something he would have guessed. What was making the scuffle he heard earlier was a group of men that seemed to be fighting against each other. Well no… that didn't accurately describe what he was seeing. It was more like one man was struggling against the rest of the men in the hall with very vocal protests.

The brunet blinked twice to make sure he wasn't imagining things, he was definitely not expecting this. Did he stumble across something gang related? Apparently his appearance wasn't really expected either because one of the guys who was a bit more obese than his buddies noticed him.

The man drew in the attention of his buddies to his presence while jerking his head to Shizuo's presence, "Hey, we've got some company. One of you take care of him."

As soon as the order had been given out, a short man with a pink jacket charged at him with a metal pipe. As much as Shizuo would've liked helping the other stressed guy out by his own hands, he was smart enough to know that the idol wouldn't fare off well against the lead his current pursuer was holding.

Oh great, Shizuo was getting caught up in what was must be a territory battle. What the hell happened to finding someone to tell him where a freaking telephone booth was? At this point, the idol needed a goddamn police man.

He had hardly made it down the flight of stairs before pain erupted on his upper side. The idol's shoulder had been hit, probably by the metal pipe he had seen the gang member from earlier holding. The agony he had received acted as a domino effect to the rest of his body, as his legs stumbled and collapsed beneath him, his head hitting the hard floor.

His escape was stopped stone cold by this gang member, Shizuo could see the tiny punk smirk at his accomplishment from the corner of his eye.

His own hand flew to his shoulder to caress the pained part of his body, he had barely managed to stifle a scream because of all the air knocked out of his lungs.

Curse his manager convincing not to seriously hit the gym and bulk up. Oh no Shizuo! Girls don't like brawny guys at all now days, they like their idols slim! Well here is to you old man, your best product was going to be maimed because you told him to not exercise beyond superficial looks. Shizuo probably would have gotten away if he knew how to run fast. Who said to always listen to your manager again? Oh wait… that was him, well still, nevertheless!

His mind was hazy because of the pain.

When Shizuo's eyes came back into focus, he found himself being hauled out of the hotel by his good shoulder. It took him a second to figure out where they were heading towards the black van parked outside before he started to dig his heals into the pavement and struggle against the tiny pipsqueak, which was a lot harder than one would think because the pipsqueak was a lot stronger than he looked.

He might have escaped his captor's grasp if it wasn't for his accomplices who were coming out of the building with the foreign looking man they had been picking on earlier. His captor's buddies shoved him in none too gracefully into the back of the van. Shizuo could hardly keep in the curse he wanted to say aloud. 

_Resentment._

"What the hell? I thought this cash cow was going to be our only pay check?" a classy looking guy with glasses asked, also gesturing to foreign struggling man.

The other supposed gang members held down the struggling old man, "Oh man, I know I said we should play it safe in case of that thing coming back for us, but he saw us anyway. Can't leave any witnesses. He was probably one of the punk kids, same as the ones we found earlier. No one is going to notice he is missing anyways."

As Shizuo started to struggle against the arms of the man holding him down he could see the other guys, which he referred to as "Shorty", "Glasses" and "Toothless" according to their appearance, looking at him more properly. He gave them a glare in return.

"Hmmm, well can't be avoided. He looks young and fit enough for client's standards, he should pay just fine. Plus, we need something extra to make up for last times failure, twenty percent here we come!" Irritating laughter followed after.

_Seething._

As Glasses locked his hold around Shizuo upper body, Toothless held down the other man they had described as their "cash cow". Shorty stood to the side, pouring a bottle of what the brunet could make out as Hatayama Chemicals into a container hooked up to a breathing mask.

Even though there was evident pain from his shoulders, panic still registered in his mind when he fully realized what was happening. The building he had entered… was a place full of illegal immigrants, the men who he initially thought to be a gang were man hunters and the older guy and himself… were the ones they had chosen as their prey. Just his fucking luck.

What was supposed to be a peaceful outing with his brother had to gone to hell. Shizuo should be going back home with Kasuka right now instead of being put into a drug induced sleep by kidnappers. He could just see what would happen next after he fell asleep, a company would pick him and the other kidnapped man, maybe he would be taken to some sort of slave trade or some crazy lab with human experiments. The thought of that was really...

Like hell if Heiwajima Shizuo was gonna submit to his fate!

These thoughts only made him struggle harder in Glasses's grip. Before the kidnapper he dubbed as Shorty could finish pouring the right amount of liquid into the container, the other man who was being held by Toothless knocked into Shorty's hand, making him spill the contents of the bottle onto the kidnappers.

Miraculously, Shizuo had been able to duck at the last moment, his captors though, weren't so lucky. Shorty was knocked out only a moment later, laying himself against the back of the car door. The other two, Glasses and Toothless, didn't fall asleep, but instead were in an extremely drowsy state. Their eyelids dropping every few seconds and their actions were slow.

He untangled himself from Glasses's hands and scrambled to open the trunk's door. Before he could make his daring escape, a heavy weight dropped onto his lower back and twisted his arms behind him. As sleepy as Glasses was getting, he was still lucid enough to produce a pair of handcuffs from his back pocket and snapped Shizuo's hands which had been twisted behind his back at the moment, the other side was snapped onto the interior of the car's upper grip handle.

So much for escaping, just when a miracle happened, it was taken away. 

 _Frustrating_.

His kidnappers put the key in the ignition and started the car after Shizuo and the other man was secured to side of the car doors. Through the pesky man hunters' drowsy state, they drove though very slow, swerving back and forth on the road.

"My name is Kaztano! I'm Japanese! I just look like a foreigner! Really!" the other captive was still trying to persuade their tired kidnappers into letting him go. In the meanwhile, Shizuo tugged relentlessly at the chain, his frustrations mounting onto the already high stress he had been feeling, this was all getting way too much for him.

The star leaned against the cool window of the van, he started to breathe deeply to alleviate the intense anger he was feeling. He should maintain a clear mind if he wanted to get away and in other words, stay under control. Though said control was slipping like sand through Shizuos's loose fingers. He was never one for the intelligent battle tactics or even any kind of planning, though he was hesitant to admit it, he left these sorts of things to Kasuka. Now what would Kasuka do?

That's when it hit him. The foreigner's cell phone had been confiscated earlier by Shorty when he was struggling. Shizuo knew that at the moment, no one besides Kasuka probably knew he was missing, though Kaztano on the other hand was another story. Yeah he was probably an illegal immigrant, but he might have some kind of reliable friend that could get in touch with the police. Maybe he could use the fact that someone would notice the other man was gone to his advantage.

Kaztano's cell phone was currently in the sleeping Shorty's pocket. If he could get that cell phone outside then he could have a chance of being rescued though it would have to take miracle and Shizuo didn't have the time to wait for Christmas. He eyed Kaztano, after a moment their eyes met, he mouthed the words "follow my lead" in hopes the other would understand. It seemed like it had as the much older man nodded in response.

The other two who were still complaining about the spilled content of the bottle, Glasses could barely drive.

"Hey, human hijackers, you're having trouble staying awake right?" Shizuo finally spoke up, "Well that guy is the source of your problems." He indicated this by pointing at the sleeping Shorty.

Kaztano picked up the rest of their suggestion, "We can rejuvenate ourselves by throwing him out."

It was honestly a shitty long shot, but Toothless and Glasses shared a look before nodding their heads. it seemed that they were too much under the influence of the sleeping drug to properly understand that they were unloading their buddy on the streets was a bad thing.

Soon enough, it was just Toothless and Glasses on board with Kaztano and himself. He still had to be careful; these goons were slowly gaining awareness from their drowsy state by the second.

Although Shizuo considered himself a good guy, he couldn't help, but feel that revenge was sweetly extracted as the man who slammed a metal pipe into his shoulder was left on the side of the road like the trash he was.

* * *

It was stupid of Kadota to never consider ringing up Kaztano's cell phone in the first place when they had started to first look for the other's man. Maybe he was stuck on trying to locate the man's psychical body and more than a little too much inner monologue. They had been thinking too far out of the box.

He listened quietly to the dial tone as he tried calling.

Kadota held his breath as the others crowded around him to hear if someone picked up. There was always a chance that the kidnappers had already thrown away the foreigner's phone, but that would at least give them a better idea where the van disappeared off to. Surprisingly, someone did although the first words he had heard wasn't what he was really expecting.

"Sushi love. I like fatty tuna." Kadota looked at the phone inconspicuously before asking who this was. He was pretty sure it wasn't the man hunters and the voice sounded more familiar than it should of.

"Oh my, if isn't Dotachin." The gang member grimaced at the stupid nickname, only there was only two people even dared to call him that and one of them was already standing next to him. He glanced at Karisawa who looked curiously back at him.

That left the creator of said horrible nickname that he disliked so much. Orihara Izaya.

Izaya had been a former classmate at Kadota's old high school. They had hung out in passing, but hadn't been particularly close. But they were on well enough terms in the years since graduation. The other man had always been a part of some sort of huge scheme, running a lot of gambling clubs back in the day before disbanding them then getting into fortune telling. Kadota vaguely recalled the large boom that had been with a lot of the girls in school, he remember watching it all go down rather passively.

All in all, kind of a grade A asshole.

He listened as Izaya rattle off how he had found the phone for a moment, "Where are you right now?"

"I'm in front of the Taishouken in South Ikebukuro."

Kadota lifted the phone away from his ear to tell the others the new information, they were already filing into the van. He climbed into the passenger seat as Togusa revved up the engine, "Izaya, can you stay where you are? We are coming to you right now. Make sure the guy doesn't wake up, or at least doesn't leave."

"We? Hmmm, I can only assume by your panicky tone that something bad has happened. Did I get it right, Dotachin? Fill me in all the details, and I'll think about it."

"Ah well," Kadota was hesitant to tell him the truth, but the other man would have found out sooner or later being an informant broker after all, "Kaztano has been kidnapped by human hunters and we're trying to save him before he's sold." He could hear slight laughter come in through the small speakers, unlike Izaya; Kadota didn't find the situation funny at all.

The tension in the car was thick, weighed down by a slow burn of panic, that maybe they were too late to save their friend. The two in the back tried to keep up their optimism though, going off with small chatter.

They got to their destination sooner than expected, though if Togusa' frantic driving was any indication he should be surprised that they didn't arrive here sooner. No one got in between Togusa and his only connection to his eternal idol goddess. Kadota snapped the phone shut as Izaya waved them over. Near him laid a man on a couple trash bags. The punk was out like a light and it was up to them to rouse the fool.

After parking the van and exchange of greetings, they got down to business.

Togusa had begun shaking the man from upside down. Finding out why the dude was left out in the streets with Kaztano's phone was a mystery for another day. Their primary function was to get Kaztano safely back home to the broken down hotel and back with them.

They eventually discovered the sleeping man's own cell phone and scrolled through his contacts. This thug was of lesser importance, the big fish was the ones who were still holding their friend captive.

Kadota looked at the phone before selecting the last call, and waiting on the dial tone. All this waiting for someone to answer, the chances of things were pretty slim but the brunet was ready for the gamble. A greasy voice answered the phone and Kadota impersonated the kidnapper in pink with a nasal tone. The man over the phone took the bait and told him the address of the exchange all too easily.

The success of his trick showed up on his face, the others flashing grins at him in excitement. They had done it. Not only were they gonna find Kaztano, but also beat the shit out of whoever took him.

When everything was said and done, Izaya peered over his shoulders as he watched them Togusa dole out his threats to the unconscious kidnapper, his lips contoured slightly by the up turned sides of his mouth "Seems interesting, maybe I'll check out the ending myself. See you later, Dotachin." and with that the informant walked off the street with his Russian sushi in hand.

* * *

They drove now in a straight line again until the van stopped on the road beneath a bridge.

"You human hijackers know I am Japanese right? People will go notice I've gone missing." Shizuo finally spoke again, if pushing Shorty out didn't work, he did need a backup plan. Unfortunately, there was no other escape and no other chances. Maybe he could use his power of persuasion? Most likely fucking not, but hey, it was worth a try.

"Well what are ya doing if a place for illegal immigrants, huh? You don't look like much, and what's one or two blonde kids off the street." Toothless looked back from his seat in front and leered at him. 

_Anger._

This only made Shizuo feel more infuriated. The brunet spoke slowly, making sure that any of his anger was suppressed. It was best to not anger his captors also, "I was going to ask someone if they knew somewhere with a phone booth."

"Really? Like we would ever believe a bullshit answer like that. Well that don't matter shit. It's too late for you." Toothless snapped back.

The two remaining members of the kidnapping group finally got out of the car, waiting outside for what must be their clients. At any rate, Shizuo was close to being sold as fucking mince meat, cut and dried on a hook. His tugging at the cuff started to become even more erratic and the metal dug into his skin red. Only god knew where the hell he was going and it would take a miracle to save him now.

All too sudden, Shizuo heard the sound of tires screeching against concrete. He immediately whipped his head around to see what was happening, through the window he could see another van stop a couple feet from the one he was residing in. This was it, this was the end, the idol was being picked up some slave trade, but like hell was he going without giving up some kind of fight or reasoning. Some people jumped out immediately, dressed in plain clothing, nothing he would imagine from slave traders.

Shizuo could hear them shout, "Kaztano!" New hope fluttered in his heart as he took in a deep breath, these new people didn't seem like man hunters after all at least if they knew Kaztano. If those people from the opposing van could get Kaztano out, they'd release him too!

His kidnappers retaliated against the rescuing group by pointing their lead pipes at them. Shizuo wondered what would Kaztano's rescuing squad do, the intensity of the moment starting hitting its highest. Though before his thoughts were answered, another high pitched sound came in over the area, it sounded weird and unnatural. His full attention on the black riding figure on a motorcycle that way making its way over here. Was this the mysterious Headless Rider of Ikebukuro he had heard so much about?

It seemed like the subcontractors were surprised also if the trembling was anything to go by. The obviously knew who this mysterious person was and freaked out.

"Sorry, we're sorry!" They ran back to the van, opening the side door of the van and unlocked Kaztano from his pair of handcuffs. They pushed Kaztano outside towards his rescuing squadron and rushed back into the car's seats. Shizuo's eyes widened as his panic came back in full strength, if Kaztano was safe, what were the chances they'd still get him out of the car? He banged his free fist against the back window repeatedly, "Hey! Get me out of here too! You fucks!"

His kidnappers started to drive away. Shizuo could see the foreign man's rescuers fly into action after a stunned moment, running back into the car and starting to drive after them. Both cars swerved down the twisting roads that weren't meant for fast drives. The momentum of the car was picking up. Shizuo never thought he'd be a part of a car chase, though he had a feeling this wouldn't end well. He was knocking around the back because of the erratic driving.

The van he was in made a sharp right turn and headed straight until they turned into a narrow alleyway that seemed to successful cut off the human hunters' own pursuers.

"All right, looks like we shook 'em off." Toothless commented to Glasses, they smirked at each other at the escape they just made as the car went down the hill. Though a sound that was like crashing metal was making its way towards them, Shizuo looked outside to see their pursuers were driving down the concrete stairs. Fucking crazy bastards.

They were close enough for him to see the driver's furious expression. He watched in amazement as they gained speed over is kidnappers, the two cars meet at the bottom and scrapping against each other slightly as the sparks flew, making the van he was in start to spin out of control.

Shizuo would've been whipped around the van more if it wasn't for the handcuffs that was digging into his wrist. He took a firm grasp with his his nails practically attached to the car seats' interior as Toothless lost all control over the van. The impact of the linked chain metal fence softened their crash. The Avengers, or what Shizuo called them, looped around and started after them again. The kidnapping van's tires shrieked against the pavement in a desperate attempt to get away as Toothless pressed helplessly on the gas pedal. They only traveled a foot or so before the van came to a complete stop. Glasses shoved open the car door and made his getaway.

Toothless was not so lucky as he pushed open the car door with that was against the fence; he eventually rolled over the seats to the outside. The kidnapper's face showed the signs of a huge fucking ton of panic as he looked between Shizuo's face in the window and the crew coming in closer. He seemed to make a decision as the car door swung open and Shizuo's handcuff was unlocked.

The man tugged him from the van and waved one of lead pipes at their pursuers. Shizuo had an inkling of what was going on what with the metal pipe in his captor's hand and Toothless's arm around his neck, but he hoped it wouldn't turn out like he had predicted. If the other man even dared...

"You come near and this guy gets his head bashed in!"

_Fury._

_Wrath._

_Rage._

_Spite._

This guy was daring to hurt him? Time seemed to slow down as Shizuo kept his head low and felt an immense anger surged throughout his bodies, muscles tightening. The pain in his arm became more bearble as his face flushed hot as his mind became only capable of one thing, _violence_. A white flash before his eyes before red settled into his views and washed over him.

* * *

As Kadota started to corner the kidnapper, he made a terrible mistake. When faced with the actions of their consequences, humans tend to panic which then devolve into a messy flurry of action.

Upon facing the repercussions, the panicky man made a cowardly move. From inside of the car, he pulled out another victim that Kadota had seen banging from inside of the van earlier. A tall blonde man emerged from the van, looking rather roughed up. Apparently this stranger had been captured along with Kaztano.

The man hunter whirled around a metal pipe and shouted, "You come near and this guy gets his head bashed in!"

Those words made them stop, Kadota couldn't risk having the stranger getting hurt. The young man's face was a stark white, frozen in a horrified emotion.

The Dollars gang member was about to raise both of his hands in a sign of surrender or at least to deter the kidnapper from hurting his victim. Although before he could even signal Yumasaki to knock out the captor, a soft baritone said, "Do you think you're god?"

It took Kadota a minute to realize the hostage was speaking. The man's head was now dipped low so he couldn't see past the blonde bangs. Now that Kadota looked closer, he realized the man's hair was skewed more than humanly possible revealing itself as actually a wig. The hair piece fell to the floor along with a pair of sunglasses, revealing rich brown hair. The face though, Kadota had seen it somewhere before…

A chorus of "Huh?" sounded, everyone taking in what the hostage had spoken.

Why was he asking about god? Confusion was evident on Togusa's face, though Yumisaki and Karisawa seemed thrilled at this new aspect. The hunter trafficker didn't seem to realize what was happening either.

The captive spoke again, "I said, do you think you're god?"

The seemingly peaceful tone remained, although a bone-chilling quality was added. With each stretched syllable, something seemed to spike behind the slowly spoken words. To Kadota, the gruff voice sounded vaguely familiar to him though.

"… what makes you think you have the right to do what you please with me?"

This question seemed to be directed toward his captor, who responded with a "What?"

The captive finally lifted his face to full view. All the familiar tell tale signs finally snapped into place.

Kadota finally recognized the hostage's features, there was no mistaking them though he felt a bit dubious in believing so. He had seen this face many times on tons of billboards around Ikebukuro and had heard the overplayed serene that was constantly on radio stations was imprinted into his mind.

Iwaki Takumi. A well renowned idol, popular enough to be compared to the beloved Ruri Hijiribe. The question now was why was the idol doing so on the arm of a kidnapper?

Kadota thought they were only supposed to be taking people no one would notice were missing, and the disappearance of one of Japan's sweethearts would surely anger more than a few people. 

Iwaki Takumi turned sharply and a clang could be heard as the lead pipe hit the ground. The kidnapper seemed to have loosen his grip on the other enough for the idol to escape his grasp. The human hunter was raised into the air by a fist that held firm onto his jacket. It seemed like the tables had turned as the captive became captor. The pop star lifting his would be assaulter well above the ground to meet his eyes, standing at an impressive height.

There was a sudden shift in the atmosphere. The darkening mood didn't seem to deter Karisawa and Yumasaki who crowed at the sudden turn of events.

All Kadota could see was the wide back of the man, not being able to see his eyes, but could feel the heaviness of the stare Iwaki Takumi was leveling his kidnapper. If what little reaction he could see, it must be terrifying. The man hunter's feet was well off the ground, dangling in suspension.

Kadota started to feel wary of a different man now.

Not a lot people can lift a grown man off their feet, not with such skinny arms.

Iwaki Takumi's figure omitted an aggressive air as he started shake his once captor back and forth, "Are you God?! Are you trying to be God?!"

Kadota looked back and forth from the star and his friends. Togusa seemed definitely confused as he was at this turn of events, the other man taking a more relaxed stance though seemed ready to jump if need be. Karisawa and Yumasaki were already making references and commentary at the spectacle before their eyes.

"Go go Taku-chan! Shake that fool!"

Yumasaki started to clap dramatically. Really there were not helping the situation at all. Those idiots.

Iwaki Takumi didn't seem to hear them as he started to shake the man more vigorously. After a minute, the musician seemed to grow angrier at the lack of response. One of his arms drew back tightly like one would with a bow and arrow, though the only target in sight was the kidnapper and low and behold, the arrow was shot.

Kadota didn't even see the impact of the punch, hearing the crunch more than seeing. But he definitely witnessed a man flying through the air. Wait… flying through the air?

He watched in awe as the man they had been chasing after all night sail through the air over thirteen feet above their heads. It was by no means, graceful. The man somersaulted through the sky and crashed into the chain link fence, impacting into the metal so hard that it ripped through the netted pattern work. Was that even humanly possible?

Kadota's eyebrows knitted in immense confusion, he turned back to Iwaki Takumi to question him as Togusa walked over to see if the kidnapper was still alive. The other man gave him a sign to indicate that the kidnapper was still alive, though probably more than a bit bruised at this rate.

Good. They needed the kidnappers alive. Well for now at this rate. Kadota would leave that to Yumasaki and Karisawa.

All other possible questions died as he turned back and saw a visible sheen of sweat cover Iwaki's face as the man stumbled back. His expression showed that he was in the utmost pain as he cradled his wrist and his breathing became visibly erratic.

Kadota felt immediate concern, "Yumasaki, Karisawa, Iwaki Takumi is going into shock. We have to get him to a hospital."

His gang members momentarily left all plans to torture Kaztano's kidnappers, in order to attend to the broken idol. It was gonna be a longer night than Kadota thought.

* * *

In that one single moment of broken restraint, Orihara Izaya felt what would be the first pangs of a truly ugly love.

The brunet watched in utmost glee as he watched Heiwajima Shizuo's fist collide with one of his former pawns. The punch connected sending the man through the air before gravity took place before crashing into a mental fence, wrapped like a silver cocoon. Izaya had never before seen something so thrilling. At least something that wasn't made by his own hands, wait no... this was even more exciting! What was this feeling? Well that could be explained later.

When Izaya had first learned about the kidnapping of Dotachin's friend, he decided to see the outcome. His motivation being was along the lines of seeing his former classmate's violent side. Also perhaps to scope any new information that might crop up.

Izaya was so glad he had, he didn't know what he would do if he missed out on this action. How repulsively fascinating this was.

He draped himself of the side of the concrete wall bordering the roads. The brunet couldn't take his eyes off the tall figure of his newest interest, Heiwajima Shizuo. How ironic it was that just the other day, Izaya had said that the man was dull. How wrong he was, but who could have known that such a beautiful creature lied underneath the dusty cover of generic whitened teeth and practiced smiles?

Out of the gems Izaya had found in the filth that was his adored humans, this one had truly taken the cake.

While he wasn't one for surprises, Izaya could dismiss this one. He was pretty sure no was expecting this from the man acclaimed as the Gentlemen of the Year. Oh yes, a pacifist with a ramming secret strength of a high speed truck that like to express himself with his fists. That would go well with the tabloids, though why waste a man of Shizuo's stature with such petty things?

He watched as Celty's motorcycle arrive at the scene, just in time to see Heiwajima Shizuo collapse from what looked like overbearing pain from his arm. Izaya was sure if he was closer by, he would have heard an audible snap or sorts. It wasn't far off to say that this wasn't something the taller man had done before and it seemed that his punch had ramifications. That only made things more interesting.

Why would such immense strength appear now out of all times? Adrenaline rush perhaps? Mutant abilities? Maybe even a curse taking form, after all anything was possible in Ikebukuro.

Izaya could feel the smile grow on face. The scene below was a macabre as the beast fainted, everyone else in a slow reacted panic.

Heiwajima Shizuo was truly memorizing and Izaya was fond of memorizing things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There story has a butterfly effect.
> 
> Shizuo has met Tom in middle school, but never had the need to dye his hair blonde to ward people off. Without his strength, he never attracted the attention and friendship of Shinra, therefore never meeting Celty. Also having entered the entertainment business and falling in with that crowd, he didn't go to a regular high school as many teen idols don't. Meaning he hadn't met Kadota either.
> 
> An underlying reason in this story of why people don't later recognize Heiwajima Shizuo as Iwaki Takumi is first off there always expecting Shizuo to be this big brute of a man, let alone this blonde skinny kid who acts nothing like the idol. So that provides that explanation.


End file.
